By: Christopher Feery | April 18, 2018

A family in Indiana is dealing with an unspeakable tragedy, as a 17-month-old boy has been declared legally brain dead. As the New York Post shares, that appears to have been the result of an error on the part of a caregiver.

A caregiver from Lineline Youth and Family Services had picked the child up from his mother’s house in Noblesville. The child was to be transported to his father’s house for a supervised visit.

The toddler was placed in a car seat for the trip, and they would soon arrive at his father’s house.

The father was excited to see his little man, but he would be horrified to find that the child was slumped over in his car seat and unresponsive. He immediately began administering CPR when he realized his son was no longer breathing.

Paramedics were soon on the scene, and the child was rushed to the hospital.

“The doctor stated he was without oxygen to the brain for 30 minutes,” said the child’s grandmother, Jackie Smith.

Smith would also note that the caregiver arrived at the home and informed the man that she had a “surprise” for him. So what happened?

According to the child’s family, the toddler was strapped into the car seat incorrectly by the caregiver. It appears that at least one of the straps was secured in such a way that it cut off the child’s airflow.

That led the child to pass out, and doctors would determine that he was brain dead a few days after the horrifying incident.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Indiana Department of Child Services are both investigating the incident, but it’s unclear if any charges will be filed at this point. Lifeline Youth and Family Services CEO Mark Terrell notes that his organization is also investigating the incident.

“First and foremost, this is a tragedy. Second is: Our prayers go out to that family and everybody involved. The issue right now is again is to determine what happened and so that it never happens again,” he said.

This is an unbelievable tragedy and we’ll have to wait and see how the investigation plays out, but it sounds like a number of balls were dropped here.

Was the caregiver solely responsible for the child being placed in the seat before the car trip? Was the child’s mother around to make sure he was fastened in properly? When the car seat was placed in the vehicle, was it not double checked to ensure that it was safe and that the child was okay?

There’s a ton of unanswered questions surrounding the case, and we can only assume that the family, the caregiver, and the Lineline organization are all beside themselves at the moment. A defenseless child’s life has been forever altered, and an employee and her organization will now have their credibility called into question.

The caregiver has been suspended with pay as the investigation continues, and it’s unclear if any decisions have been made as to the child’s long-term care.